It's time to vote! In this post you will find the caches which have been nominated to be the MnGCA October Cache of the Month.

Rules for nominations here. Please comment on the process/rules on that thread. Please do your critiquing of these nominations in a positive way - through your vote. Please refrain from replying with negative comments about these caches, their owners, or the people who took the time to nominate them.

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Nomination articles: (in the order they were nominated)
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I nominate "Mail: I art a trail, I am" for cache of the month.
This Rickrich family cache has proven to be quite challenging. Locating the hiding spot has been a challenge because it involves solving a puzzle that provides the final coordinate. That puzzle has proven to be a bit tricky for many of the geocachers who have attempted this west suburban cache.
When you follow the cache page coordinates to the parkway where this cache is hidden, you’ll find a semi-paved trail that connects low-traffic
Minnetonka neighborhoods. Unlike caches that are along trails originating
from a local park, there’s no obvious starting point for this cache.
The trick to finding the general vicinity of this cache is determining the
meaning of the clue provided. I thought the clue’s meaning would be obvious when I arrived at the trail, but I was mistaken. It took me more than an hour to solve the puzzle.
When you solve the puzzle, the final coordinates will still leave you a
short distance from the hiding spot. The final coordinates lead you to a
pair of trees with tiny metal tags nailed to them. Information on those tags will help you determine how far off the paved trail you need to go to find the cache.
It is possible to find the tags without solving the clue, which at least one
geocacher has done, but that’s not an easy way out. There are hundreds of these tags along the trail. While some are readable from the trail, some aren’t, since they’re nailed to trees set several feet back. If you solve the clue, you’ll have an easy time finding the cache. If it takes you an hour to solve the clue, you’ll tear your hair out.
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Part of the joy of geocaching is the element of surprise, part is enjoying the beauty of nature, and of course part is the thrill of the hunt.

Stillwater Surprise comes as close to satisfying these three elements as any cache I have searched for in Minnesota. In addition, it is located in an area that is rife with history, near many opportunities for other outdoor activity, and close to its namesake town that itself provides many caches and lots of other things to do.

Without giving away the surprise, let me say that I have lived less than twelve miles from this area for the last twenty-five years, and never knew it existed. A hidden access makes even the beginning of the search interesting. A beautiful walk on little used paths takes you nearer and nearer the cache. Suddenly, you are there and it all becomes obvious. The vista would not be out of place on the North Shore near Lake Superior, but here it is a real surprise.

Heavy tree cover in summer makes this one a bit difficult. Be prepared to scramble a bit due to steep terrain, but you can’t get lost. Take care not to disturb the foliage in the area too much and, oh yes, most of the year don’t be surprised if you get wet feet. Although I have not visited early in the year, I bet this is a terrific cache in Spring when the snow melts.
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My nomination for the October cache of the month is 'Barn Bywater' (GCE681). Although apparently hidden by a non-active cacher (no finds and only this one hide) it is one of the standouts of all the caches I have found.

Hidden high up on Barn Bluff overlooking both the Mississippi River and the city of Red Wing, hunting this cache requires a hike of almost a mile and many feet of climbing to reach. Once you arrive at the coordinates, you are rewarded, not only with a challenging hide, but also beautiful vistas.

I visited this cache in March and was in awe of the scenery. I can only imagine what it will be like in the peak of autumn colors. Take a drive down to Red Wing and treat yourself to this treasure.
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As any realtor will tell you, the three most
important things in real estate are location,
location, and location, and I think the same is true
of geocaching, and this cache happens to be in one of
the best locations I've seen so far through
geocaching. Depending on traffic and construction,
Spring Lake Park is only 1/2 hour south of the cities,
and there are 5 caches (one currently temporarily
disabled) in the two sections of the park.
Since I can only submit one cache, I went by the
process of elimination--one is disabled (Georgeous by
Towlebooth (GCA9F3)), KB recently had one of his
caches featured, the most recent log (since July) on
Powderfinger Point (GCG3T8) is a DNF, and I didn't get
to the other new cache (The Good Canyon by He and I
and CJ (GCGWNM)) in the park during my last visit.
But this one cache is worth the trip in
itself--the walk from the parking lot starts on a
paved trail with great views of the Mississippi, and
Dakota County Parks has done a great job with
interpretive signs telling of the flora, fauna,
geography, and history of the area. I know I learned
something new--I always thought Spring Lake was just
the name for the wide spot in the Mississippi, and
didn't realize there was actually a spring-fed lake
separate from the river before the nearby lock and dam
were built. From the end of the asphalt, it is still
an easy hike on the dirt trail to the cache, past the
ravine where KB's Micro Treasures #2 (GCGW69) is
located.
There are many amenities in the park--plenty of
hiking trails, covered and open picnic areas, and
playground equipment, and one can get plenty of great
river views if they came to this cache and those
nearby. There is also another section of the park to
the west, Where Tricolor's Powderfinger Point cache is
located, with a 28 station walking archery range that
made me want to go out and buy a bow and arrows, even
though I'm not a bowhunter. And if one wanted to
make a day of caching on their way to this cache,
there are plenty of great caches not far off Highway
61 and in and around Hastings as you make your way
south from I-494.
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If your looking for a cache that is suitable for young kids but still a
challange then this cache is for you. I have a 3 year old little girl and
sometimes the Bushwacking can be a bit hard with out prior knowledge of skill levels required. I'm also looking for more to do then just a quick visit to a cache.

Veterans Memorial Park is a 108-acre community park that includes over two miles of walking path through woods and marsh. The park also has a volleyball court, an informal playfield, and playground equipment.
The park is also home to Adventure Gardens which offers 18 holes of golf on a challenging, hilly course with numerous water hazards, split greens, and trick angles. In terms of golfing in general, this is the spot for those who like to play the game without all the tiring exercise that comes with a walk of 500 yards rather than five feet. And as mini-golf goes, this is the way it was meant to be played. With a beautifully landscaped course featuring pines and a waterfall, a concession stand no more than a hundred feet away, and lights for night putting, there's little more the recreation-bound mini-golfer could ask for. But, since you asked, there's also the added bonus that this mini-golf course is located at Veterans Memorial Park, where there are also water slides and an ample picnic area for a day-long outing.

The cache itself is not that hard to find but the clue will make it simple. I
hate to give any hints or clues at all. The only word of advice is this trust
your GPS skills and remember it is kid friendly.

On the FLIP side you can make this a totally differnent experience and the
level would become extremely hard. Just go at night.
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Can't Jump by Ibcrashen is one of Duluth's most notable caches. This was the first multi-cache our team ever did and was also where we picked up our first travel bug, so it will always be a special find for our team. Can't Jump takes advantage of great history of Duluth and a very scenic area. By making it a multi-cache, you are taken to a beautiful vista and then led to area where the cache is hidden. In the area are some cement footings, the remains of an old ski jump and even some cable laying in the woods. The view is wonderful and the caches are well placed. Can't Jump should be a must stop for anyone caching in Duluth.

Last edited by towlebooth on Tue Sep 23, 2003 9:17 pm; edited 3 times in total

Other nominee:
Potholes! was also nominated but will NOT be up for vote because it is located in Wisconsin:

Potholes! by Yawningdog's Pack was a special find for me. It was one of the first caches I found when starting out geocaching and I have found only a few that compare in the quality of scenery, landscape, and general geocaching "craftmanship". It was also the cache that I introduced two newbies to geocaching. Needless to say, a standard was also set for them that has been hard to top.

Located on the Wisconsin side of Interstate State Park near Taylors Falls, this cache hunt offers up a great hike and beautiful rest stops in a very peaceful area. Once out hunting for it, you will quickly realize why the name of the cache is Potholes!